Jun 9, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Senate passes bill to make Pulse nightclub national memorial

Oriana González

A memorial down the road from the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Senate on Wednesday passed legislation that will officially designate the Pulse nightclub a national memorial, nearly five years on from one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern American history.

Driving the news: The bill passed unanimously in the upper chamber following a request from Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in observance of Saturday marking five years since a gunman opened fire in the Orlando gay nightclub, killing 49 people. Scott was governor of Florida at the time.

The legislation passed in the House last month after being introduced by Reps. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Val Demings (D-Fla.) and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.).
The bill states that the memorial "is not a unit of the National Park System and the designation of the National Pulse Memorial shall not require or permit Federal funds to be expended for any purpose related to that national memorial."

What to watch: The legislation will now head to President Biden's desk to be signed into law.

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Senate passes bill to make Pulse nightclub national memorial

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